Ask Décor Diva: From Bare & Cold To Coastal Cosy?

One of our readers recently contacted The Design Tabloid to ask our resident Décor Diva some advice. She sent us an image of her living room along with the following queries…

She asks:

“My house is at the coast and I am battling to get this big (lounge) space cosy and inviting. I changed the coffee table to a square and ordered a jute rug. Also, how do you arrange scatter cushions on a U-shaped couch? Do you think I should change the bird cushion as it is not really part of the coastal theme? I ordered 3 striped cushions as well as 3 duck egg blue cushions…”

Décor Diva says:

Because you are at the coast, I actually think that you should play on that coastal / nautical theme a lot more. The colours would then be more along the sand, stone, tones of blue, white and even a bit of nautical red can be thrown in there. And for that reason only would I go along with the suggestion of tossing out the bird cushion. I have to admit that I do find the dark script cushions a bit on the heavy side. There is such a variety to be found in nautical designed cushions which you could mix in with a lighter script, typo designs and even a nice blue geo pattern. Stripes are very prominent with the coastal themes.

Right now your space seems to be a work in progress and as such I guess that you are gradually introducing more colour. And accessories are the best way to go here. With your rug being along neutral colour tones as well, you may even consider creating one wall as a feature wall, by painting it a coastal ivory or sandy colour. That effect can immediately eliminate that sense of ‘vastness’ that an open plan area often presents. It ‘pulls the room in’ for want of a better explanation.

You also enquired about the ‘positioning’ or layout of the scatters on the actual sofa. I think that you have two options open to you:

1) The way you have it set out on the sofa in the image… that is in each corner is fine – but I would definitely make sure that you include a rectangular or organically shaped cushion.

2) Move away from the corners of the arms of the sofa – instead position the scatter in the middle of each section, plus the corner where the two sections meet. At least three cushions in the same format as above.

One generally displays the scatters in layers, starting with the bigger ones at the back and working down. The mix of sizes and shapes: the larger sizes at the back should be something like 60 x 60cm, then a slightly smaller one of 50cm x 50cm. In front of that you can either have a long rectangular cushion of about 35cm x 60cm or even a more organic looking cushion like bolster. I like to keep the cushion inners as a feather mix – they are much easier to sit into and less likely to be tossed onto the floor as a nuisance factor.

The best is to fiddle or play with each setting until you reach one that sits well with you. After all – despite all the guidelines around, ultimately it is all about you and how things work for you.

Love, Rose x x x

{Below find some lovely Coastal décor inspiration and local accessories. Please click on images to enlarge}